Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., No. 43 in the 2020 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, named Lauren R. Hobart CEO, putting her among the few women to lead a large corporation. Hobart, currently president of the sporting-goods retailer, will take the top spot Feb. 1, 2021, Dick’s said in a statement.
Current chairman and CEO Ed Stack, part of the company’s founding family, will become executive chairman. Stack said in a statement that he’ll continue to lead merchandising, product development and certain strategic initiatives while supporting Hobart as an adviser.
Victoria’s Secret announced a new head of its lingerie business as the company prepares to separate from sister brand Bath & Body Works.
Martin Waters, who joined parent L Brands Inc. (No. 27) in 2008, will become CEO of the lingerie operations “effective immediately,” according to a statement. He replaces John Mehas who has been in his role less than two years. The company didn’t give a reason for the change, and Victoria’s Secret didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The abrupt change, one of several executive appointments recently announced at the retailer, comes as Victoria’s Secret tries to restore its image following allegations of sexual misconduct and associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mehas and Victoria’s Secret came under fire this year after a letter signed by more than 100 people, including models Christy Turlington Burns and Edie Campbell, said the retailer didn’t act to protect women from abuse.
The company also named Laura Miller chief human resources officer of Victoria’s Secret. Additionally, Becky Behringer was promoted to executive vice president of North America store sales and operations, and Janie Schaffer was named chief design officer of Victoria’s Secret Lingerie.
CVS Health Corp. (No. 116) named Karen Lynch CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2021. This puts a seasoned insurance executive in place to succeed the health care giant’s longtime leader Larry Merlo.
The shift in leadership reflects how CVS has further evolved under Merlo’s direction from a pharmacy chain into a health conglomerate that sells insurance coverage, administers drug-benefit plans and offers care, including COVID-19 testing. Lynch joined CVS in 2018 when it bought Aetna, where she was widely seen as a likely successor to Aetna’s chief, Mark Bertolini.
Lynch will become one of the most high-profile female executives in the business world, leading a company with a market value of more than $80 billion.
Lynch’s selection for the company’s top post makes sense, as her background matches the company’s ambitions, said Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut. “That’s where they want to go as a company, and that’s where her value will be,” Tanquilut says.
Lynch will join the company’s board upon assuming her new role, CVS said in its statement. Merlo will remain on the board until CVS’s next annual meeting in May 2021 and serve as a strategic adviser to assist with the transition until he retires on May 31, the company said.
In other ecommerce news:
- Macy’s Inc. (No. 14) plans to devote more of its shelf space to Black-owned brands, becoming one of the most prominent names to join the nascent 15 Percent Pledge movement for racial equity in the retail world. The department store chain follows retailers such as West Elm and Sephora signing onto the 15 Percent Pledge, a grassroots effort to increase the representation of Black-owned brands in stores across the country. Macy’s said it will dedicate 15% of its purchasing budget across all product categories to Black-owned businesses. Durand Guion, vice president of Macy’s Fashion Office, said in the statement that boosting the number of minority-owned brands is part of its diversity and inclusion strategy. The company will hold itself accountable for “continued progress in driving sustainable change internally and within our industry.”
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Chinese cosmetics company Yatsen Holding Ltd. raised $616.9 million in a U.S. initial public offering priced at the top of a marketed range, as authorities continued threatening to force firms from the Asian nation off American exchanges. Started in 2016, Yatsen’s founders named the company after their alma mater, which commemorates China’s first president Sun Yat-sen, according to its prospectus. The company has launched three cosmetics and skin care brands: Perfect Diary, Little Ondine and Abby’s Choice. The three brands served 23.5 million customers in the nine months ended Sept. 30, the prospectus shows. About 91% of gross sales in that period were generated through online channels such as WeChat and Tmall, according to the prospectus. A number of investors have indicated an interest to buy as much as $300 million in the IPO, Yatsen said in the prospectus. They include existing shareholders Hillhouse Capital and Tiger Global as well as new investors including a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd. The cosmetic manufacturer announced in October that it has bought skin care brand Galenic from French group Pierre Fabre for an undisclosed sum.
- Walmart Inc. (No.3) plans to buy for an undisclosed sum select assets of delivery service JoyRun to enhance its supply chain. Joyrun works differently than services like DoorDash, Postmates and UberEats. It enables consumers to pick up and deliver items for friends and neighbors, and about 540 companies use it as a last-mile delivery platform with more than 30,000 people serving as “runners.” Runners can either charge a fee for the service or waive their fee. “This acquisition allows us to further augment our team and ongoing efforts to explore even more ways to deliver for customers in the future,” says Srini Venkatesan, Walmart’s executive vice president in a press release announcing the acquisition. “Our goal is to deliver as quickly and efficiently as possible.”